The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

Gross job losses in Arkansas decreased in each of the three quarters prior to June 2017. In the latest quarter, gross job losses increased by nearly 6,000, to the highest level since June 2016. (See chart 1.) Gross job gains fell for the third consecutive quarter, down by 3,261 in the three months ended in June 2017, to 52,890, the lowest quarterly gain since March 2015.

Gross job losses represented 5.6 percent of private sector employment in Arkansas in the quarter ended in June 2017, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.8 percent of private sector employment. (See chart 2.) With few exceptions, Arkansas’s rate of gross job losses has been below the national rate since the series began in September 1992. The state’s rate of gross job gains fell to 5.2 percent in June 2017, the lowest rate of job gains since the series inception. Nationally, the rate of gross job gains accounted for 6.2 percent of private sector employment in the latest quarter.

During the second quarter of 2017, gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 6 of the 10 industry sectors in Arkansas. The professional and business services sector had the largest net job loss during the quarter. This sector created 9,504 jobs at opening and expanding establishments, but lost 12,363 jobs at closing and contracting establishments, for a net loss of 2,859 jobs. In leisure and hospitality, opening and expanding establishments created 8,790 jobs, while closing and contracting establishments lost 9,761 jobs, resulting in a net loss of 971 jobs. (See table 1.)

In contrast, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four industry sectors in Arkansas. Education and health services had a net employment gain of 1,741, with 7,879 jobs added at opening and expanding establishments and 6,138 jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments. Net job gains were less than 150 in transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, and financial activities.

Additional statistics and other information

BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. For more information on the Business Employment Dynamics data, visit the BED web site at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for Third Quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled from existing QCEW records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either establishments with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are either establishments with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Footnotes:(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately.(2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information.(3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted